Chipotle Black Bean Burrito Bowls

Ingredients

• 1 x 400g tin black beans, drained
• 1 x 250g pouch microwave rice
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp chipotle paste
• 100 g cherry tomatoes, quartered
• handful shredded lettuce
• 0.5 red onion, finely diced
• 2 tbsp soured cream
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 15g coriander, chopped
• Warm tortillas, to serve

Method

1. Start the pico de gallo first so it has time to mellow: combine the quartered cherry tomatoes, finely diced red onion, half the lime juice, most of the chopped coriander and a good pinch of salt. Stir and leave to one side — the onion softens, the tomato juices loosen, and you get something jammy and bright rather than raw and sharp.
2. Warm the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the cumin and chipotle paste and bloom for 30–60 seconds until fragrant and the kitchen smells smoky — raw spices taste dusty, bloomed spices taste of themselves.
3. Tip in the drained black beans and stir to coat in the smoky oil. Cook for 3–4 minutes until glossy and steaming, then crush about a third of them against the side of the pan with a fork — that gives you a creamy, scoopable base with whole beans through it. Season generously with salt and pepper.
4. Ping the rice per packet instructions and fluff with a fork. A pinch of salt through it now is worth more than any seasoning at the table.
5. Taste the beans — adjust the salt, and if they feel one-note, a small squeeze of lime wakes them up. Taste, season, taste again.
6. Divide the rice between two bowls. Spoon the chipotle beans over one side, fan the avocado slices alongside, pile on the pico de gallo and tuck in the shredded lettuce so every forkful gets warm, cool, creamy and sharp in one go.
7. Finish each bowl with a spoonful of soured cream, scatter over the reserved coriander and tuck a lime wedge on the side to squeeze over at the table.